Rail joint



Nov. 17, 1925. 1,562,423

Ics. LANGFORD RAIL JOINT Filed Feb 20' '1925 5 sheets-sheet 4 Q LANGFQRD RAIL JOINT 13.19421le@Jg 20,.A 1925 i 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 aff@ Patented Nov. 17, 1925..

UNITED sTA GEORGE LnNeFonD, 'RAIL Application led February 20, 1925. rSerial No. 10,537.

To all whom t may concern .Be it known that I, GEORGE LANGFpnD, a citizen of the United States, residing at Joliet, in the county of Will and State of Illinois, have invented a new land useful Improvement in RailJoints, ot which the fol- 'lowing is a full, clear, concise` and exact description, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification.

My invention relates to rail joints.

In railroad tracksit is desirable to` make ,the joints between 'the ends of rails of as nearly the same characteristics as the intermediate rail as is possible. This isvbecause tracklaid upon ties, a's is the present practice, is an undulating structure falling and rising as the load of the wheels passes over the saine.' lThe joint should not be more rigid nor less rigid than the continuous rail. Practically this desideratum is not attainable. The strength of the joint at the cut between rail ends is the strength of the bars. But away from the cut the strength of the joint is that o the rail plus the strength of the bars, where the bars extend. The re` sult is the stiii'est part of the rail is immediately adjacent the weakest part.`

The more the joint departs from the characteristic of the continuous rail, the less ad vantageous is the joint and the greater will be the wear upon the same. i

But with the bars now in use the concentrated deiiection results in concentrated wear to the extent of loosening the fit betweerr the angular bearing surfaces of bar and rail end'.

4@The ktrapezoidal section of the bar is ldesigned-to wedge the bar between the lower [face of the head and the top is designed to be drawn tight to take up wear `as it occurs, draw space being provided but it will be seen that as wear is concentrated l at thc center, taking up equally on the bolts Tas PATENT face of the Flange to secure a. tight fit initially. The bar or Jouer, ILLINOIS.

JOINT. i

center of the bar provided by increased depth, reduces deflection and hence wear: Next, the increased depth insures a fit with the bearing surfaces of`the rail'ends even though they become worn.

The manner in which I am able to accom'- `plish this will become apparent from the following detailed description and claims, ksuiiice it to say here that I crown theangular bearing surfaces and flex the bar laterally to gain the greatest effect from such crowning. That is to say, thev crowning tends to make the central part t but the ends to be loose to a variable extent dependingupon the condition of the bearing sur! the accompanying drawings a specific man-A nery of' practicing the same.

In` the drawings: i Figure 1 is a cross section of ay rail joint such asis now in common use:

forinJof joint for purposes of illustration;

Fig. lA is a cross section of a simplified HEISSUED Fig. 2 is a side view with bolt heads cut I away ofthe joint shown in Fi 1A;

Flgs. 3 and 4 are diagrams il ustrating the actio'of a wheel passing over a joint; i

Fig. is a side view similar to Fig. 2 of a worn joint;

Fig. 6 is a side View vand'Itigl 7 an end view of 'a renewed bar for curing the defect caused by wear'and shown in Fig. 5;

Figs. 8 and 9 are diagrammatic illustra- -tions in isometric projectionof' a barwhich shows how the crowned'bar may be made to fit the bearing surfacesjo'f the rail; Fig. 10 is a side View and Fig. 11 an end view of a bar having a crown along a greater part of the center than would correspond to the wear of the rails; F'g. 12 is a side view and Fig. 13 an end View of the aforesaid bar ,after it is flexed to make it fit the bearing surfaces of the rail,

i. e., new rail;

' view and Fig. 16 a top lan View of abar which is crowned and thickened at the center, the 'thickening metal being applied on the outside face of the bar;- V Figs. 17, 18 and 19 are side, end, and to plan views of a crowned barshowin'g the 'thickening applied to the `inner side of the bar to produce in eiiect a bowing of the lnner surface;

Figs. 20, 21, and 22 are similari views of. a" crowned bar ofuniform thickness bowed out to give greater spring action;

Fig. 23 is an end vle'w of a joint embodyingmy invention Showing how the bars are drawn'in at the ends to make the crowned Aedes it along the full length of the bar; an

between adjacent ends 1s to be made. These bars have angularly disposed bearing sur@A faces 2, 2 bearing against the bottom sur# faces 3, 3 of the head which'v is indicated at 4. The angle which these surfaces make with .the/horizontal is generally of the order of `twelve degrees, although this may bevaried if desired. The bars 1, 1 have flanges 5, 5 at their lower edges, imparting'lateral strength to the jaar, and providing at the' same time angular bearing surfaces 6, 6 which co-operate with similar surfaces 7, 7 on the top of the ange of the rail 4. The flanges 5, 5 vdo not bear on the base fiangesurface 7, 7 of the rail throughout their entire width,

but onlymfor' alimited distance as, for example, and 9. The central part of the bars 1, 1 is cut away uor relieved, as indicated at 10, in order to save weight and metal. The4 bars are made of a-size such that there is a elearance space, asindicated at 11, between thc inner surfaces of the bars and the web of the rail 4.

The surfaces 2, 3'. and 6, 7 are "subject to wear particularly at the central art of the bar where the actual cut in the rai is located, and the joint becomes loose due to such wear.. The clearance 11 permits the bars 1 to be pressed inwardly to take up the same, as by tightening up. the bolts 12.

The wear which occurs at the central part passing ofthe bars is due rimarilyy to the -of wheels over the joints and depressing the end of one rail with respect tothe end ot' the other rail, thereby bringing the bars under bending stresses and shear.

In Figs. 3 and 4 'I have illustrated the manner in which the wheel passing over theA `joint tends to subject the bar to punishment,

tween 'the points indicated at 8 j diagrams to show the tendencies involved.

As' the wheel 15 moves across the joint it firstencounters a part of the joint where the bar face adjacent the extreme ends of the rails.

For example, in Fig. 3 the bottom bearing surface'of the head 1s pressed down sharply upon the top of the bar 16-while the bar presses down in turn upon the top surface of the flange of the rail 13. The ends of the bar y16 bear against 'corresponding surfaces of the rail ends 13-'and 14, but the leverage there is greater, so that the maximum une .ishment comes upon the central parte the bar 16. As the wheel 15 asses over the gap or cut 17, the wheel ten s to leave the one rail striking the raised end of the rail 13 and then depressing saidend as is shown in Fig. 4.

Now I have shownin Figs. 3 and 4 a flat bar trapezoidal in section as constituting the joining bar for the ends of the rail. For the sake of illustration, I have shown such a joint in section in Fig. 1A and it will simplify the explanation `of the invention to 'consider the joint as being made by su'ch -flat bars 16as indicated in Fig. 1^,

Thevangleffor the surfaces 2, 6 isof the' order of ,twenty-four degrees, 'although this may be vari'ed.- T he angle ofthe bearing surfaces of the bars is made the same as the angle of the bearing surfaces of the rails. Due to the wear, which has been mentioned above, the bearing surfaces become worn away as indicated at 18 and 19 in Fig. 5. I do not mean to indicate that rail joints Iare actually'as loose and carelessly made as shown in'Figs. 3 and y4, but intend these Asa matter of fact, a perfectly tight joint will cause wear at 18 and'l9 from no other cause than the deflection of the bar. It is well known to those who are familial' with the subject that the 'passing of `a wheel over a rail causes it to fiex and modern road beds are designed to ypermit the same. The load ofthe wheel is a` concentrated load and as it Shifts along itV tends to move the point of depression along the rail, so that the railA actually moves downward and? upward as the load passes onto and ofi' of it. The result is that'when the rail passes over the joint; even ifthe Vjoint is absolutely tight, so far as drawing up the bolts is concerned,

-and so far as the contact between surfaces is ccncerned, the bending of the bars to even a slight degree results in a rubbing action between the surfaces ,2, 3, and 6, 7 with thc` follows the existence of play auginents the play and the joint rapidly deteriorates.

The expansioitV and contraction due to changes in temperature is another contributing factor to wear, but this is npt necessarily concentrated on the central part of the bar.

In my co-pending application, Serial No. 10,536 tiled February 20.1 1925, I have disclosed the fiuidainental Conception of renewing a worn bar by pressing in the side faces and pushing out the end faces to a section which will tit the worn surfaces of the rail.

Such shape of bar is illustrated in Figs. 6 and 7 where a certain amount of crown or extrusion, as indicated at l21 and 22. is prdnced by ,thinning theJ central part ofthe bar, as indicated at the dotted' lines'23 in Fig. 7.

I find that the principle of this Crowned or expanded bar permits the joint to be applied to unworn rail ends for securing a tight joint. 1

Assume, for example, that there is a. dihedral angle, such as shown at 24 in Fig. 8,

l`which is the dihedral angle formed between faces 3 and 7 on the iail and that this is` to be engaged by a bar having greater depth at the center than at the end. such as i's illustrated, for example, at in Fig. S. The central part of the bar 25 is tangent to the sides of the dihedral angle 24 and ,the ends of the bar are, so long as the bai' is straight. out of contact with the planes defining the dihedral angle.

The angle of the edges varies from the I centralpart- 26'tothe ends 27 for the purpose of securing a uniforin lit between said end 'faces 27 andthe corresponding planes of the dihedral angle 24. lThe vvariation in the angle along the top and bottoni of the bar may be secui'ed by suitably grinding thev dies in which .the bai'sare formed.

I may leave the angle uniform along top and bottoni in which case. when the bar is lowered. the area of Contact at the central part of the bai-will he a maximum. giving maximum strength at this point and then the area will taper off toward 4the ends with corresponding decrease in strength and rigidityY of the joint at said ends.

A Now assume VYthat the bar 25. as shi'iwn in F ig. 8. is foi'ced into the posit-ion shown in Fig. 9, that'is. the ends are drawn in kvuntil theyy fit between the sides of the dihedral angle 24. This means that the entire edge 26 and 27 at top and bottoni lits into the space between the sides defining the dihedral angle and the upper edge and the lower `edge of the bar 25 lie in the corresponding planes defining the dihedral angle.

Now it can beI seen that if a bar..Y whether of thinner section at the center or of uniform section throughout. be formed as shown in Fig. 6, such a bar may, by proper flexing thereof," be niade to fit into lthe dihedral angle defined by the planes 3, 7 of the rail.

I have shown in Fig. 10 a bar of even and uniform lthickness between its side faces, but being crowned or swelled as to its vertical dimension, in Figs. 10 and 11.

Such bar may now be employed either for forming a joint in connection with new rails, or it may be employed in repairing a joint of worn rails, since the central crowned portion may either be arched out, as indicated in Figs. 12 and 13 foil forming a joint with new rails, or may remain straight when the l saine is used in. conjunction with the repairing of worn rails. In other words. I now have produced a bar which is useful in connection either with worn rail ends or in con uection with new rail ends for forming a joint. The new bar is strips, is then cut to length. die formed to the proper formation, and then punched. or punched at the saine time that it is die formed. f

The production of such b'ar in the proper size, shape, and contour. willbe readily coinprehended by those skilled in the art. L

Now it is not essential that the ends of the bar be made parallel. `as indicated at 30 in Fig. 10, and the central part onlyv crowned for, as shown in Figs. 14 and 15. Ima;Y form the edge faces of the bar 31. vshown in Fig. 14. with uniform arch or crown upon each edge 32 from end to end. At the saine tiin'e the central part of the bar may be thickened. 'as is indicated at 33 in Fig. 15, to increase the strength of the bar at the portion subjected to the'gi'eatest stress by bcnd- 'ing in the ends. This secures the desirabll` results of increasing the strength of the joint at'the portion which heretofore has been first subject to weakness.

Instead of adding the thickening metal to the outside of the bar. it niav be'added to thevinside of the bar. as indicated at in Y Figs. 18 and 19. the bar 34 otherwise being like that shown in Fig. 14. namely. evenly arched along its top aid bottoni edges.

If desired. the bar ma)v be given a caiubcr or bow to increase the tension upon the central part to secure a Ibetter follow-un action. as shown in Figs. 20. 21. and 22. In this case the bar 36 -is of uniform thickness and it has its top and bottoni edges crowned. as is apparent from the drawing. and in addition it is bowed with the, central partextending inwardly 'and the ends 37 extending outwardly, so that when the end bolts are drawn up the central part of the bar is forced into contact with the surfaces 3 and 7 of the rail to produce a pressure and. at the same time. a take-up or spring action which will tend to keep the joint tight for a longer time and also will tend to present much greater strength where it is seated.

preferably rolled into long in Figsf20 to 22, inclusive, applied totwol i Fig. 23 shows suchla barfas that indicated adjacent rail ends to form a joint.

It will now be seen that the ends -37 are archedin until the surfaces 2 andA 3 fit along the full lengtlrof the .bar independently ofk the central bolt, the end bolts, which draw in the ends-of the bars and whichhave not been illustrated yfor the sake of. clearness, make a tight joint and lthe pressure which may be applied by means of the central bolts, merelyY increases the pressure between the surfaces 2, 3 and 6, '7; `The 'centralbolts are not strictly" necessary, since the spring. action of the bars is sufficient to causel the wedge sursfaces to engage e'ach other. Such bolts, however, are desirable for `strengthening the joint against lateral displacement. .f In Fig. 24 I have illustrated a rail joint in which the bars 40 are formed' of the conventional angle section 4and are crowned along the center to secure a iit between the surfaces 2, 3 and 6, 7 along. the center before the same occurs at the ends of the bar, so that the ends'of tlne bar must be drawn in tight by the end bolts, the bar then serving as a spring. l

In one example of an embodiment of my invention I provide a twenty-'four inch bar in which` thecentral/part of the bar is substantially straight for five inches along the center, and gg'inchxhigher for the head wearing surface 2, vand 72s inch deeper on the ange wearing surface 6 for substantially the` same distance, the quarter inch draw space 1l, which prevails at the center, being reduced, to one-eighth inch draw ,space at the ends. In other wordsythebar makes 'a bow or camber of one-eighth inch, as between vthe center and ends.

In practice I do notfind it necessary to vary the angle of the edge facesnorvtoform the crown as a strictly accurate curve,jsuch as I haveillustrated in Fig.4 8,- but merely an approximation thereof. Also the central part is in practice somewhatflattened ofi mlstead of belng sharply crowned or arched` as Vthis conforms more nearly to the requireonly bbwed in.

ments of new bars. namely, that the central part 'be substantially straight and the ends The theoretical perfect curve shown in Fig. 8 and the perfect bend shown inliig. 9 are naturally modified by the bolt holes and the concentrated stresses Aof the bolts at such points.

The metal which may lic-added at the lcenter of the bar to form the crown or crowns according to the present invention is a valuable addition w'ith regard to strength as such metal is placed at maximum distance .from the neutral axis. a, t The angle bars which en'ibody the above structure are preferably made ofmedium carbon open hearth steel, heat treated and quenched in oil, so as to secure a great cellentstrength, but to give a suitable spring action.

Since the major part of the wear occurs at the center of the bar and a minimum at the ends, it can be seen that with the variable amount of take-.up or clearance provided T according to my invention, the maximum' take-up is at'the Vplace where the maximum is necessary and theminimum is provided necessary. The' result is a highly advantaJ- geous structure which is useful, not only in `.securing greater strength and rigidity at the center in new rail joints, in connection with the joining of new rail ends, but which also has the valuable property of being capable of making a satisfactory joint in connection with the ends of rails which have previously been joined and worn so that a new bar of standard section would no longer produce a perfect joint. 'f j Now the additional metal which the crown represents is preferably applied as an in' te'gral part of the bar, but it will be ap-4 parent that such metal may be applied as a separate part as, for example, a shim or plate at the point where the effect of crown- Aing is desired. A single continuous plate similarly where a minimum of Jtake-up is` may provide thecrown at top and bottomof bar. I do not intend to be limited to the details shown and described.

LA rail joint comprising a pair of rail ends having substantially plane bearing surfaces forming a dihedral angle between them, and a bar having its upper and lowat top and bottom to co-operatc ywith the,

bearing lsurfaces of the rail ends, -said bar being of greater depth along its central part than at its ends, and bolts through said har and the rail nends for drawing the ends of the bar towards the webs olthe. rail ends until the bearing surfaces at the ends of thc` bar are in wedging contact with the bearing surfaces of the rails.

A bar for joining adjacent ends of standard railroad railscomprising outward- `ly arched angular .bearing surfacesy atnftop vand bottom along the entire length of the bar, said bearing surfaces being so formed as to be brought lnto engagement with the bearing surfaces of the rail ends-by bending Cil the ends of the bar laterally inward towards the rail ends.

4. A bar for joining adjacent ends of new standard railroad rails comprising a wedgebar having angularly disposed bearing surfaces at topand bottom edges, said bar being crowned along the bearing surfaces at top and bottom, said angularly disposed .bearing surfaces being brought vinto the planes of the bearing surfaces of a railroad rail by deflection of the ends inwardly a distance less than the draw space of the bar with the rail.

5. A rail joint comprising the combination with adjacent rail ends of standard railroad rails of a joining bar of graduated vertical depth tapering from the' center portion to each end and having at its top and bottom edges suitable bearing surfaces ta-l pering inwardly, and means for draw-` ing the ends of the bar toward the rail ends inwardly beyond the central portion of the bar until the top and bottom bearing surfaces of the bar are in the planes of the bearing surfaces of the rail ends. e

G. A rail joint for joining a pair of rail ends having substantially plane bearing surfaces forming a dihedral angle between them comprising a bar having inwardly'inclined bearing surfaces atv its upper and lower edges for co-operating engagement with the bearing surfaces of the rail ends, said bar being of a depth at its center great enough to fit the bearing surfaces of theV rail ends with a proper draw space, the depth of the bar tapering towards the ends to permit the ends to be bowed inwardly toward the rails to bring the inclined bearing surfaces along said bowed ends into engagement with the bearing surfaces of the rail ends.

In witness whereof, I hereunto subscribe my name this 10th day of February, 1925,

GEORGE LANGFORD. 

